We all want to be good at something.
Some of us want to become good at a lot of things.
We all want to be happy and successful.
And by changing a few flawed persistent thoughts that most people hold onto...and making a few steps in the right direction...amazing things can happen.
This series of articles is going to be different, very different from most everything you've been told or taught about success and achievement. This is the real secret...
Before we get to the Achievement Factor let's quickly remove some myths and folklore about success, then we'll get right to it.
Behavior vs. Intention
The Christmas present didn't fit. There were no batteries in the gift for the boy. The food wasn't quite as good as you wanted it to be for the occasion. But no one cared...all that much..., because your intention was good.
In areas of kindness and concern, intention goes a long way even if things go wrong.
But intention is just that. It's part of the "plan." Some people's plan is a "hope." I "hope things work out."
Achievement begins with intention. Intention happens on day one.
That's today.
Today it is *very* important.
Now, today, the intention rarely matters.
Right here in Coffee with Kevin Hogan, in previous articles, you and I have talked a lot about observing the actual behaviors of people vs. their attitudes in the past here. We've learned to watch what people do vs. what they say. To sum up a book's worth of information:
Positive Mental Attitude?
"Attitude" is important in all aspects of life. And there is AN attitude that is one of the achievement factors. Attitudes are important in persuasion and influence. Attitudes matter. But if you were looking at a pie, "a positive attitude" might only make up a small portion of the factors in achievement...and frankly...it might not be in the pie.
You can have a "positive attitude" or a "negative attitude" but the impact of either of those attitudes on achievement will vary from person to person. A lot of people equate a good attitude with a big smile or a happy outlook on life. Others equate a "good attitude" with a visible face of determination. Then there are those whose "good attitude" is really a focused attitude.
No matter what you think a "positive mental attitude" is, it often becomes an end in itself and that end typically leads to frustration and dissatisfaction.
That tends to cause the extinction of the goals that the person was going to have a positive mental attitude for.
Reality? You can have a lot of different kinds of attitudes and achieve....or fail. We'll talk alot about attitude later. Let's get moving toward the single most important factor in achievement...decision...
Achievement and Behavior
Achievement is wrapped up in behavior.
I think of achievement in short term concept. Less than two years.
I think of success as a long term concept. Usually 5-7 years out.
You don't have to adopt those frames, just think about them.
I remember watching a guy sit down and playing piano with his fingers moving over the keys like a bird flapping her wings. He just flew. The music was complex and beautiful. You never would have thought this guy a pianist. And he was truly amazing.
"How the heck do you do that?"
"My Mom used to make me practice an hour every day after school."
"For how long?"
"From the time I was 4 until I graduated high school."
"You really wanted to do that?"
"Not at first...not for a long time. But then I did, yes. I started to love it in junior high."
Same with Michelle Kwan. Einstein, Edison, Gates, Walton, Curie, Bell, Beethoven, Mozart, The Beatles...Same with everyone who succeeds at anything. They lived many, many days and years with no reward for the reward came later. Success (not achievement) is about duration and excellence.
KEYPOINT: Behavior precedes Attitude in most cases and behavior tends to generate PASSION for the behavior itself.
OK, with that behind us, let's get to it. Turn the page to find out the First Factor of Achievement.
"Attitude" is important in all aspects of life. And there is AN attitude that is one of the achievement factors. Attitudes are important in persuasion and influence. Attitudes matter. But if you were looking at a pie, "a positive attitude" might only make up a small portion of the factors in achievement...and frankly...it might not be in the pie.